Google announced a new feature rolling out to U.S., English-speaking users on desktop, tablet and smartphone that makes Google act as your personal virtual assistant. Yes, you don't have to type, you can even talk to it.
Google will now answer personal questions such as searching for your upcoming flights, reservations, package delivery info, appointments, photos from your album and more. Google calls this My Answers.
The feature is not live for me yet but here are some screen shots showing off what it can do.
Upcoming Flights:
Upcoming Reservations:
Recent Purchases:
Upcoming Appointments:
Photos I've Uploaded:
How does it work:
- Flights: Ask Google “Is my flight on time?” to get info on your upcoming flights and live status on your current flights.
- Reservations: Ask for “my reservations” to see your dining plans or “my hotel” to get your hotel name and address. With one tap, you can get driving or public transit directions straight there, saving you lots of steps.
- Purchases: Ask for “my purchases,” and you’ll get the status of your current orders, so you know whether your mom’s birthday present will arrive on time.
- Plans: Ask Google “What are my plans for tomorrow?” to see a summary of upcoming flights, hotels, restaurant reservations and events—very useful when you’re traveling.
- Photos: Say “Show me my photos from Thailand” to see the photos you uploaded to Google+. You can also ask for “my photos of sunsets” if you want to show off the shots you’ve taken over the year; Google will try to automatically recognize the type of photo you’re asking for.
This is a feature Google has had with Google Now for a while now and reminds people it is secure and can be turned off if it is not wanted.
Here are some FAQs:
(Q) Who can see these results?
(A) As mentioned above, this information is just for you—secure, via encrypted connection, and visible only to you when you're signed in to Google.
(Q) How do I see these results?
(A) Right now, we have a few time savers for flights, reservations, purchases, plans and photos. Check out this site for more details on how to make the most of them.
(Q) I can’t see these results. Why?
(A) These results are only available in the United States while searching on Google.com with English as the display language. If this matches your configuration, and you’re still not receiving results, please let us know below what type of result you were looking for, the company or service provider, and the query you used.
(Q) How do I opt out?
(A) To turn it off for one set of searches, click the toggle in the upper right corner. To turn it off for good, simply disable “Private results” at google.com/preferences.
Forum discussion at Google Web Search Help and Google+.
